


Out of the Depths

by Namarie



Series: That Ancient Serpent [2]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-07-23 20:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20013994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namarie/pseuds/Namarie
Summary: Lucifer and Chloe take some much-needed vacation time together after his return from Hell - and meanwhile, Lucifer seeks help from an unlikely source to allow him to stay on Earth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel that also partially overlaps with my first Lucifer story, "That Ancient Serpent." I strongly recommend reading that first in order to understand what's going on here. Also, spoilers for season four.
> 
> Thanks to Mack_the_Spoon for her beta!

~~

It was ridiculous for him to be this nervous. The Detective was only going in to work for one morning – and it wasn’t even really for work, just to give a more complete statement about her kidnapping to the new lieutenant and some other higher-ups. It wouldn’t take long, and she would be perfectly safe while she was there. Or at least, reasonably safe. As safe as any mortal human could expect, in her normal everyday life. At a police station. With a number of criminals being brought in regularly, and questioned, and held in jail cells--

Lucifer stopped himself. She would be fine. And they had already discussed what she would say for how she managed to escape from the Russians. She would be _fine_.

A sound behind him made him whirl around, wings extended and only barely not colliding with the nearest end table. Then he sighed. “Amenadiel,” he said, taking a slow breath, “I would appreciate you not sneaking up behind me. Remember where I’ve just been, brother.”

Amenadiel held up his hands. “I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you, Luci. But I take your point, and I apologize. I just wanted to come see you.”

“Have you come to criticize me for abandoning my duties again, just like old times?” Lucifer folded his wings and stalked over to the bar. His glass was empty.

“What-- No, Lucifer. Not at all.” He actually sounded hurt. “I really just wanted to see you. It’s been months up here, and I know it must have been even longer down there.”

Lucifer swallowed down his drink, and turned to Amenadiel again. He shut his eyes briefly. “Well, here I am. And you don’t need to worry: I’m not going to leave Hell unguarded for long. Your son will not be at risk. I’ll be checking in often down there, and I have a plan--”

“That’s good to hear, and I appreciate it, but that’s still not why I came over.” Before Lucifer could react, his brother had crossed the room and hugged him.

Lucifer tensed, and then gingerly patted Amenadiel on the back before pulling away. “If you're trying to say you missed me, I suppose it's mutual,” he admitted. “But then, any halfway decent company would have been more enjoyable than all demons, all the time.”

Amenadiel chuckled. “Well, I’m glad I rate higher than that.”

Silence fell then, and Lucifer poured himself yet another drink, offering one to his brother who, of course, refused it politely. Finally, he cleared his throat. “How are Linda and the little half-angel? Chloe told me there’s no sign of wings yet.”

“No sign of wings, but Charlie is doing great,” said Amenadiel. His face lit up as he talked about his son, which made Lucifer feel odd in several ways he didn’t want to think about. “He’s just starting to crawl, and he’s getting better at holding onto things. Linda thinks he’s going to start practicing standing up soon, too!”

“That’s … good,” said Lucifer. It didn’t sound at all impressive to him, but he trusted that Linda, at least, would know if her child was developing too slowly. “And Linda--”

“Oh, yeah, she’s doing great, too,” his brother went on. “She went back to work, very part-time, a couple of months ago. But she still mostly stays home with Charlie. And I’m home a lot, too, although I’ve also started volunteering at the local youth center.”

Lucifer remembered the teenager that Amenadiel had taken an interest in, who had met an untimely end after being falsely accused of murder. He supposed it was admirable for his brother to try again with other youths even knowing the risks. Definitely also foolish, but then, that was Amenadiel all over.

“Oh – I have some pictures,” said Amenadiel then, pulling out his phone. “Here.”

Lucifer thought about telling him he wasn’t interested, but gave it up as a lost cause and just took the phone. And he did have to admit, his nephew was cute for an infant. Clearly well cared-for and loved, too. Lucifer scrolled through a few more photos, some of just the child and some of him with his parents, and then handed the phone back to Amenadiel. For some reason, he didn’t seem to be able to speak at the moment.

“You can come see him for yourself, anytime,” said Amenadiel quietly. “I know Linda would love to see you, too.”

He nodded. Then he cleared his throat and said, “While you’re here, brother, I have an idea I’d like to run by you.”

Amenadiel leaned against the counter. “Go ahead.”

“Right.” Lucifer gathered his thoughts. “As I told you when you arrived, I’m going to be checking in on Hell on a regular basis, and if the situation down there requires me to stay for more than a short time, I will. I’m not going to let any demons get any other bright ideas about launching an attack on Earth. But I also--” He swallowed, remembering how Chloe had sounded as she prayed what she believed to be her final words, to him.

“You also have a lot of good reasons to want to spend time up here,” Amenadiel finished, nodding. “I understand that, Luci. And I’m not going to criticize you for it.”

“Good.” Lucifer cleared his throat again. “But even before, ah, circumstances required me to come back, I had been thinking about a way I might be able to maintain a watch on Hell, without always having to be there in person. A kind of infernal surveillance camera.”

Amenadiel raised his eyebrows. “What? Luci, you know human technology doesn’t--”

“Yes, I do know,” he cut in, rolling his eyes. “Which is why I was thinking of something more angelic.”

Now Amenadiel looked even more baffled. “But … I don’t know of anything you or I could make that would fit that bill.”

“Right, I agree,” said Lucifer. “But we have a brother who is very much into secrets and special knowledge. He’s also quite clever sometimes, though I don’t plan on telling him that directly, and occasionally willing to go so far as to at least _consider_ doing things that might not be according to Dad’s wishes. So I thought perhaps I might ask him.”

Amenadiel frowned, more skeptically than Lucifer thought was warranted. “You’re saying you’re going to try to talk to Raziel?”

“What?” Lucifer glared. “He never hated me as much as … a lot of our siblings. And don’t you think he might enjoy this challenge I’m proposing?”

“That-- that’s not what I meant at all,” said Amenadiel. He put his hands on his hips. “Do you not think Raziel is going to notice that this is the first time you’ll have spoken to him since--”

“Since I fell?” Lucifer rolled his eyes again. “Of course he’ll bloody well notice. But give me a shred of credit, brother. He’s also not omniscient, so perhaps he’ll be curious to know why I’m contacting him out of the blue. That’s how I’ll get in the door, so to speak.”

At that, Amenadiel nodded slowly. “That could work. And then you’re counting on his continued curiosity to keep the conversation going?”

“Exactly.”

“And Razi is a good choice of someone who might know a way to do what you want done,” he continued. Then he smiled. “Well, it’s not a bad plan, and you know I hope it works, brother. It can’t be easy, going to and from Hell so often in such a short period of time – on Earth, anyway.”

Lucifer gave him a grim smile in reply. ‘Not easy’ was an understatement. Making that transition over and over was really not something he looked forward to doing for any length of time.

“Let me know how it works,” Amenadiel said. “And if you need any assistance...”

“I’ll call you,” said Lucifer. His smile this time was less forced.

“You do that.”

As soon as Amenadiel had departed – via the elevator this time, not his wings – Lucifer decided now was as good a time as any. He took a few more deep breaths, and then closed his eyes. _Raziel_ , he said, making his mental tone as clear and direct as possible, _Raziel, brother, this is Lucifer speaking. I know it’s been literal ages since we last spoke. That’s on both of us, I suppose. Regardless, I have what I think is an interesting metaphysical question for you, but I’d like to ask it in person. Are you interested?_

There was no immediate response, but Lucifer got the strong feeling Raziel had received his prayer at least. So there was nothing to do on his end but wait, since this sibling was not one who could be easily persuaded to change his mind if Lucifer kept pestering him.

He had just sat down at the piano bench and begun to play a few chords when there was another sound behind him – close enough that Lucifer had no time to turn around before something cold touched the back of his neck. He took his hands away from the keys. “Raziel,” he said slowly, “that better be you. And if it is you, I suggest you put whatever that is away before I remind you who has more combat experience between the two of us.”

“Maybe that was true literal ages ago, the last time we spoke,” said Raziel’s voice, heavy on the sarcasm, “but how would you know if that’s true now?”

“I suppose that’s fair,” said Lucifer. Then he stood up, pushing back the piano bench into his brother and spinning around in one fluid motion.

Raziel staggered back, unfurling his red-brown wings to keep himself from falling. In the process, he withdrew the small metal object he’d been holding to Lucifer’s neck, leaving only a scratch. Narrowing his eyes, Lucifer unfurled his own wings (after stepping far enough from the piano to make sure there was no chance they would destroy the instrument). “Did I do something to offend you, brother? Personally, I mean. Don’t tell me you held a weapon on me just because of my disagreement with our father.”

Raziel, however, only stared at Lucifer’s wings. His own, he had already furled. Before Lucifer got completely fed up with this, however, his younger brother smiled and shook his head, putting the weapon away in a pouch at his belt. “Nope. Nothing personal. I just wanted to see if you were really as far gone as Michael insists.”

Lucifer scoffed and folded his wings away. “For Dad’s sake, _don’t_ listen to anything that self-righteous bastard says – not just about me, either.” When he’d learned that the leader of the group of mobsters who had kidnapped Chloe was called Mikhail, Lucifer had found that disgustingly apt. “On the other hand, don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m just the same as I was, either.” With that, he let his eyes flash red. “There’s truth to the rumors.”

Raziel flinched, but to his credit, that was the extent of his reaction. “I see,” he said. He took a breath, and then looked around. “Well, you’re not in Hell right now, I notice. Should I be concerned about your dereliction of duty?”

“Oh, you noticed that, did you.” Lucifer made himself turn his back on his brother as he walked over to the bar. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever tasted Earth alcoholic beverages before? They can be quite pleasant.”

“I have, actually,” said Raziel. He walked over to join Lucifer. “A few times. Got any whiskey?”

Lucifer smiled, and allowed himself to relax somewhat. “An excellent choice.”

After the two had made their way through their initial glasses, Lucifer cleared his throat. “So, Raz, you decided to come down here – and I assume not only to determine for yourself what I’ve become.”

“You’re right,” acknowledged Raziel, leaning back against the bar in almost the same spot where Amenadiel had been earlier. “I’ll admit, your prayer was intriguing. I haven’t had a good metaphysical discussion in a while – though I’ll also admit that I didn’t think that was ever really your thing.”

“Well, all right,” said Lucifer, “in the spirit of being honest, it isn’t only theoretical and metaphysical. The question would also have practical applications, if it’s even possible to answer.”

Raziel cocked his head. “Do tell.”

Lucifer smiled again. This was going to happen. “What do you know about the secrets of how celestials can observe other realms without being there physically?”

~~  
Chloe took another deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly as she got into the elevator at Lux. Her statement was given, and she was officially on leave for the next two weeks. And instead of that being a bleak prospect, with nothing to occupy her time except Trixie (who had definitely noticed her mother’s growing depression), there was a spark of excitement inside her. Lucifer was back, and he had missed her, and was it too much to hope that he might want to spend at least some of her two weeks off together?

She was startled to hear two voices on the other side of the door as it was opening at the penthouse. She was even more startled to see Lucifer talking in a low voice to a young guy she didn’t recognize, who was dressed in strange, old-fashioned looking clothes as they both bent over something on the coffee table. Neither of them seemed to have noticed the sound of the elevator arriving.

“Lucifer?” Chloe said.

The two men looked up. Chloe had an odd moment of recognition – something about the matching expression of surprise on their faces. This was another of Lucifer’s siblings.

“Ah, Detective,” said Lucifer, smiling. “How did it go?”

“Fine,” said Chloe, managing a strained smile in response. “I’m on mandatory leave for the next two weeks – which is normal in cases like this.” She turned her gaze on the other guy in the room. The other angel. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve met.”

“No, we haven’t,” said the man, smiling politely even as his eyes scanned her with interest. He didn't have the same accent as either Lucifer or Amenadiel, which was confusing. “I’m Raziel.”

“Yes – Chloe, this is another of my brothers, Raziel,” said Lucifer. “Raziel, this is Detective Chloe Decker. We work-- worked together solving murders for the LAPD.”

Chloe noticed his correction with a pang. But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Raziel came over to shake her hand in a firm but not unpleasant grip, still observing her keenly as he did so. “A police detective,” he remarked. “Of all the ways for the Devil to pass the time, it’s interesting that he chose to help you in your work.”

Chloe met his gaze. “Lucifer’s choices are his own, but I can tell you he’s the best partner I ever had.”

Lucifer, who had been moving over to her side during this exchange with a very tense expression on his face, paused to beam at her. “Thank you, Detective.” Then he turned back to his brother. For a moment it looked like he was going to reach out and pull her close to him, but he let his hand fall to his side instead.

“Interesting,” said Raziel, cocking his head slightly as he looked between Lucifer and Chloe. “Did you tell her the truth about yourself, then, brother?”

“He did,” Chloe said. She crossed her arms. “Lucifer doesn’t lie. So I know that means you’re an angel, too – and I also know not very many of you seem to care about him anymore.”

Raziel’s eyebrows rose, but he laughed. “No mystery why you like this one,” he said, still speaking to Lucifer and not really her.

“Yes, well, thank you for dropping by, Raziel,” said Lucifer through gritted teeth. “You’ll let me know when we can test the next phase of the plan?”

“I will.” The other angel nodded. “Until then, brother.” Then he actually addressed Chloe long enough to say, “It was intriguing to meet you, Detective Chloe Decker.” With that, he spread his wings (another distinct color pattern, she noted) and disappeared.

“Wow,” said Chloe, after a few seconds had passed. “I can see why your family gets on your nerves.”

Lucifer snorted. “And Raz there, believe it or not, is one of the more pleasant of my siblings.”

“And he agreed to help you with your plan?” He'd mentioned this plan of his to her, though he hadn't elaborated yet.

“He did, but it’ll take him some time to prepare what he needs.” Lucifer turned to face her. “Which means we needn’t spend another second thinking about him. But I do want to know, now that we don’t have an audience: did the lieutenant and those other people believe your statement? How did it really go?”

“It really was fine,” said Chloe. She yawned, and deliberately leaned into him. “Tiring, but not because anyone was interrogating me or anything. I just...”

“You were just forced to relive a traumatic experience while a bunch of idiots in suits took notes,” he growled, but without much force. His arm went around her shoulders, gently.

“Well, anyway, it’s over, and now I’m on leave for the next two weeks,” she said. And then she looked up at him. “So, if you aren’t too busy … I was thinking we could both use some real vacation time.”

His jaw dropped. “What, you mean … you and me? Going away somewhere together?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” she said, giggling at his shock. “Is that such a crazy idea?”

He was still staring at her, but at her question he hurried to say, “No, no, not at all!” His eyes brightened. “Do you have a destination in mind, or can I offer some suggestions?”

“My only condition is, somewhere other than Vegas,” she told him.

“Agreed,” he said immediately. He thought for a few seconds, and then held up a triumphant finger. “Ah! I’ve got it. How do you feel about a beach vacation?”

Imagining walking along the shore with Lucifer, and listening to the endless sound of the tide, Chloe smiled. “Sounds perfect.” Then another thought occurred to her. “Assuming you mean somewhere nearby, and not including a bunch of, um, other guests in Speedos and bikinis, that is.”

“I’ll remind you that distance doesn’t have to be a factor, but I consent to that additional condition as well, nonetheless,” he said. “As for the other...” He reached for her face, his fingers skimming the bruises there so gently that it once again felt like a whisper. “I’m not at all interested in including anyone else but you in our plans, Chloe.”

She was suddenly and vividly envisioning other things they could do together, just the two of them. It was a very, very nice mental image. But it did remind her… “Good,” she said, putting her hand over his. “But if we want it to be just us, I need to make sure Dan is okay with taking Trixie. And I’ll need to make sure Trixie is okay with the idea, too.”

“Of course,” said Lucifer with a nod. “Which means you’ll need to wait until she’s finished with school for the day, correct?”

“Correct.” Chloe gave him a smile. For all he pretended to dislike all children, Lucifer had never once treated Trixie like an inconvenience to be worked around. That stayed true, he had just proved, even when he had just gotten back from Hell. “I can talk to Dan meanwhile, and then maybe start packing.”

“I will, as well.” Then he gave her a long, deliberate look and added, “Don’t feel like you have to bring too much in the way of clothing, darling. My advice is, pack light.”

She laughed, and started to turn toward the door. It would have been strange if he _hadn’t_ made a comment like that. On the other hand... “So, fewer swimsuits rather than more, and I’ll leave all the lingerie at home. Got it.”

“Wait-- Detective, no, that’s not what I meant! Detective! Bring all the extra suitcases you wish!”

~  
Dan hadn’t had any problems with taking Trixie for a week. “You need some time away, and I shouldn’t have too much keeping me out late,” he said on the phone. “You’ll pick her up after school today to talk to her about it?”

“That’s the plan,” she said. “And I’ll have my phone, if you need to get in touch for whatever reason.”

“Okay.” Then he let out a slow breath. “You’re, uh, you’re taking this vacation with Lucifer, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she told him, firmly but calmly. “We-- we both still have a lot to work through, but we want to take this step, now that he’s back.”

There was a pause, and she could imagine him rubbing a hand over his face. “All right. You know him, you know what he’s like, so I’m not going to say anything else. And he did show up in time to save your life again, so I’m not complaining about that.”

Dan had been given the official story, too, which was that after she’d been kidnapped, the Russians had taken her out of the city into the desert, to a location which Chloe could very truthfully say she had no idea where it was since she’d been blindfolded. Her former partner, returning from his time away helping with the family business, had happened to be traveling back toward LA through the same general area. He had heard her calling for help, and had been able to get to her in time to help her get away from the mobsters. Chloe had also said with one hundred percent accuracy that she had no idea where the mobsters ended up.

(Chloe had no clue how Lucifer’s statement had gone. He had given it earlier that morning, before hers, and had promised her ahead of time that he would stick to the bare-bones truth so as to avoid lying, and would also try to avoid bringing in anything about dragons or Hell or flying her to safety. And since no one in her interview had brought up anything about how her former partner sounded insane, she guessed he must have made it work somehow.)

“It sure was lucky that Lucifer just happened to be out there at the same time,” Dan was saying right then. He was definitely suspicious, though not that Lucifer had been involved with the Russians. Whatever his feelings toward him, Dan knew him well enough to know that wasn’t possible.

“Yep. Lucky,” said Chloe. If he wanted to know more, he was going to have to ask directly. “Anyway, I’ll bring Trixie by after dinner, if that works for you?”

Dan sighed. But he didn’t sound annoyed when he said, “Yeah, sure. See you then.”

Her daughter was not at all upset to hear about her mom’s vacation plans, especially when Chloe promised her she would be home for the second week of her leave, so the two of them could spend plenty of time together. The only thing she asked was for a chance to see Lucifer before they both left.

“I bet we can manage that,” said Chloe with a smile. “I’ll call him now, and see if he can maybe come over for dinner.”

“Yesssss!” Trixie jumped up and down, and them pumped her fist. “This is going to be awesome!”

Lucifer seemed pleased and surprised to be asked, when she called a few minutes later. “Shall I bring anything?”

“If you want to,” Chloe told him, “but you being here is already enough to make Trixie’s day, or possibly her whole week. And I’ll be happy to have you around, too,” she added, because she still got the impression he needed to hear her say those kinds of truths as often as she remembered, if she wanted him to start believing them.

“Well, in that case, I couldn’t possibly refuse,” he replied warmly. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Chloe found herself smiling as she set down her phone. She would have to start planning the meal right away (since her packing for next week was almost done). But then something else occurred to her. “Trixie!” she called from the kitchen, “can you come here for a minute?”

Her daughter ran in. “Did he say yes?” she asked eagerly.

“Yes, he’s coming,” Chloe told her.

Trixie cheered again. “I’m so excited, he’s actually really back!”

“I’m excited, too,” said Chloe. “But, Monkey, I want to talk to you about a few things before you see him, okay?”

“Okay.” She sat down at the kitchen counter.

Chloe took a breath, organizing her thoughts as best she could. “All right. So, you know how Lucifer has been away doing work for his family?”

“That’s what you said,” said Trixie, emphasizing the last word.

Chloe raised an eyebrow, but went on. “Well, the place where he was doing that work – it was a really, really awful place, and so I know you’re going to be curious, but it would be nice to Lucifer if you didn’t ask him a lot of questions about that place. Okay?”

Trixie nodded slowly, very serious. Then she met her mom’s gaze. “Was he in Hell?”

“What?” Chloe stared. She’d been trying so hard to get ahead of what Trixie might say while Lucifer was here. But this, she had not been expecting.

“I mean, he said he’s the Devil,” her daughter went on reasonably. “So if he went back to do work in a really bad place, where he didn’t want to be and where we couldn’t call him or even send him a letter, it just makes sense.”

“You know,” said Chloe, coming closer so she could kiss the top of Trixie’s head, “you’re pretty smart, kiddo.” Her daughter had believed Lucifer the whole time … and hadn’t once been afraid of him. Even though he’d never shown his devil side to her (and she was sure he never would want to), that still made Chloe’s heart twinge with guilt.

“So I was right?” said Trixie. She smiled in triumph, but then looked serious again. “Whoa. Lucifer was in Hell.”

“But he’s not there now, and I bet you can imagine that he maybe wouldn’t want to think about such an awful place very much,” Chloe said.

Trixie nodded again. “Yeah.” And then she hopped off the stool. “Don’t worry, Mommy. I don’t want to make Lucifer sad or scared. … So what are we going to have for dinner?”

~~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter finished. Hopefully, my next update will at least not take any longer than this one did!
> 
> There's a tiny bit of dialogue quoted from 4X02 in this section. All credit to the show writers there.
> 
> Also, minor trigger warning for discussions/depiction of self-harm (nothing extremely graphic).

~~  
If anyone had asked Lucifer how he was feeling as he walked up to the Detective’s door that evening, he certainly wouldn’t have said he was nervous. There was no reason to be nervous. It wasn’t as if this would be the first time he’d had dinner at her house, with her offspring present. Plus, he had just gotten back from Hell, which was full of darkness and evil, not to mention restless demons who were always searching for a vulnerability to exploit. In comparison with Hell, there was no reason at all to be anxious here.

Still, somehow he found himself taking a deep breath before knocking on Chloe’s door. And then it was flung open by the child, who beamed at him, shouted his name, and then wrapped her arms around his legs almost tightly enough to make him stumble. “Ah, yes,” said Lucifer, gripping the bottle of wine he’d brought and holding himself upright, “hello, child.” She had gotten taller in the last eight months, he realized. Which gave him an odd feeling he couldn’t even begin to put into words.

Thankfully, the Detective rescued him then. “Well, come on, Monkey – let him come in already,” she said in a fond tone. “Maybe you could finish setting the table?”

“Okay!” Trixie smiled up at him again, and then released him to dash off toward the table.

“She really missed you,” said Chloe, coming forward with her own smile and taking the wine from him. “In case you hadn’t noticed.”

Lucifer couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so he just nodded, came into the apartment, and closed the door behind him.

“Oh, but I should warn you,” she continued in a low voice as they walked toward the kitchen, “Trixie guessed you’ve been in Hell these past months. Apparently she believed you the first time she heard you say who you are.”

Lucifer blinked, and then looked over to where the child in question was energetically placing the knives and forks at each place at the table. “She … knows?”

“Well, not in a lot of detail.” Chloe paused, frowning. “As far as I know. I guess it depends on how much Maze has been telling her.”

That was a good question, and one Lucifer planned to follow up on with Maze later. But in the meantime, he was still processing the news that the Detective’s offspring knew he was the Devil – had known for nearly all the time they’d been acquainted – and it hadn’t bothered her.

Dinner was the kind of nice, low-key affair that Lucifer hadn’t even realized he needed. The little urchin chattered a fair amount while they ate, yes, but not constantly, and it was just … so utterly unlike his life in Hell to listen to a young human talk about her school, friends, and television shows she’d watched in the past eight months. It was oddly refreshing. The food was delicious, as well.

As Lucifer was serving himself a second helping of spaghetti, he caught Trixie exchanging a look with her mother. “What is it, Trixie?” Chloe asked.

“It’s just … I have a question, but I don’t want to ask it if it’ll make Lucifer sad.”

He cocked his head, and then looked at Chloe. “Make me sad? What on Earth does she mean?”

Sighing, Chloe replied to her daughter, “All right, you might as well go ahead and ask at this point. But remember what we talked about.”

The child nodded. She addressed Lucifer then with a serious expression. “I was just wondering, do you have more friends like Maze in Hell, or are all the other demons mean?”

“Ah.” He glanced at Chloe, who shrugged and sort of grimaced. Had she been concerned about these kinds of questions? That was confusing. “No, I don’t have any friends like Maze in Hell,” he replied. He smiled a bit, imagining how Maze would react to being separated out from the “mean” demons. She would also probably listen very carefully to how he answered this question. “Maze is – well, no one’s quite like her, child. And yes, the vast majority of other demons are either mean, or insane, or idiots, or ingratiating and subservient, or some combination of those.” He shrugged. “It’s just how they are. I don’t usually take it personally.” He had, however, taken Dromos’ betrayal very personally. So personally in fact, he thought Maze herself might have been proud of the punishment he’d meted out.

The child pondered this. “So did Maze start out mean like them?”

“Well, I didn’t choose her as my chief torturer--” At Chloe’s loud cough, he corrected himself. “As my chief, ah, punisher because she was sweet and kind, child. In fact, she would no doubt tell you that she’s still mean – to anyone she doesn’t have a reason to care about.” Although that wasn’t the full story, he knew. “But I suppose she has grown quite a bit since the two of us first arrived in LA, hasn’t she?”

“I guess so,” said Trixie, looking thoughtful. “She must have, since she’s so nice now.”

Lucifer choked, just a tiny bit, on his mouthful of food just then. He met the Detective’s gaze, and saw she was also having some difficulty swallowing a bite. Thankfully, the child didn’t seem to notice.

After dinner, while the younger Decker was off getting ready to go to her father’s house for the coming week, Lucifer insisted on staying to help with the clean-up. It was exactly the sort of mundane household task that he would normally have less than zero interest in – but he found as the evening drew to a close, he didn’t want to leave. Even though he knew he and Chloe would be reunited the following morning, to begin their vacation.

As he was drying another dinner plate, it occurred to him that there was a question he had wanted to ask earlier but he’d had the feeling it would have been strange to ask it then. So he cleared his throat. “Detective,” he said.

“Yes?” She looked up at him, from the wine glass she was currently rinsing. The bruises on her face stood out under the kitchen lights, and for a second he felt another flash of rage. And then he remembered he was supposed to be asking a question.

“Did you tell your child not to ask me questions about Hell?”

Chloe looked away. “Um. Sort of. Yeah, I did.”

“Why?” He wasn’t upset, which he hoped she could tell. He just wanted to know.

“I was just-- Now that Trixie knows for sure where you were, she’s going to be extra curious about Hell, and what you’ve been doing, and … well, I didn’t want you to have to relive that place, and everything associated with it, anymore than your life already requires you to.” She met his eyes, and then sighed and set the glass on the draining board. “I mean, I guess I should have just asked you ahead of time about that whole issue. It was silly, I guess. It’s not like you haven’t been – dealing with Hell, _ruling_ it for thousands of years...”

Lucifer set down the plate he’d been drying, and reached out to lay a hand on her arm. “It wasn’t silly,” he said, although it was suddenly difficult to speak. “It was … quite thoughtful of you to consider such a thing.” In fact, it boggled his mind that such a caution would occur to her – but then, this was Chloe. “But if you had asked me, I would have said the only questions from your offspring about Hell that I’d prefer not to answer are any that you would deem inappropriate for her to hear. Otherwise, after all this time, Hell really has only one horror remaining for me.”

She was gazing at him now. “What’s that?”

“Separation from you, of course,” he said quietly. He smiled a little, and added, “And surprisingly enough, there are a few others I would miss-- _did_ miss. But mostly you, Detective.”

Chloe sniffled and wiped under her eyes. “Well,” she said, “thank you. That’s very, very sweet of you, Lucifer.”

“It’s not just a line, I hope you know,” he told her.

“Oh, I know,” she replied, smiling. “After all, you don’t lie.”

Before the conversation could continue, the Detective’s daughter came trotting back into the room, and slid into a seat at the counter. “So what are you guys going to do on your vacation, anyway?”

The Detective stared at him, and then Trixie, and said, “Monkey, are you all packed and ready for the week with your dad?”

“Yep.” She rested her chin on one hand. “Are you going to go somewhere fun?”

“That is the plan, child,” said Lucifer. He smiled and leaned back against the counter. “I have a house on the beach, and I imagine your mother and I will be dividing our time between inside and outside the house.”

“What would you want to do inside, if you’re going to be at the beach?” the child asked, looking confused.

Lucifer opened his mouth, but the Detective cut him off hastily.

“Well, we both want some time to relax, you know, Monkey, but I’m sure we’ll also find a lot of different ways to have fun.” She glanced at Lucifer then, and he was delighted to notice a faint blush on her cheeks.

“Indeed we will,” he agreed with a grin.

“And we might even spend some time just resting,” Chloe went on, still blushing a little. “Maybe reading.”

The child looked incredulous at that, which Lucifer understood. He had not, he would have confessed easily, imagined wasting any of these precious days with Chloe doing anything so _pedestrian_.

“Do you like reading, Lucifer?” the little urchin was asking. He quickly brought his focus back to the here and now.

“I do, if the book is worth my time,” he admitted. And honestly, it had been a while since he’d looked for such a book. But perhaps it wasn’t too terrible of a suggestion. There were a lot of hours in a day, after all.

“Oh. Yeah, me, too,” she said. Then her eyes lit up. “Wait, then I have something for you!” she yelled, jumping up and running back to her room.

Lucifer watched her go with more than a small amount of unease. “How worried should I be?” he asked the Detective.

She just laughed. “We’re just going to have to wait in suspense for a few more seconds.”

As it turned out, though, the gift wasn’t too alarming. It was a piece of pink construction paper, cut into a thin rectangle, with some sort of creature’s face glued onto the top of it. It was laminated, as well. Trixie gave him a huge smile as she handed it to him. “I’m guessing you don’t have a bookmark, if you don’t read very often. But I just made this in school last week, so you can have it.”

Lucifer accepted it, and brought it closer so he could take another look. “Ah. Well, thank you, child,” he said. “You’re correct that I didn’t have one of these.” He had a few other bookmarks, to be honest, but none of them were homemade, with a rather recognizable unicorn as the head. He supposed he should count himself lucky that the Detective’s child seemed to have moved beyond the stage of development where teachers thought it was a good idea for their students’ so-called art projects to involve glitter.

“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully. “Hope you both have fun with your reading.”

If Lucifer wasn’t mistaken – and he didn’t think he was, although it was harder for him to tell with children – the little creature had just all but winked at them.

~~  
The first two check-ins of how Hell was getting on without him had gone smoothly enough. It certainly seemed like his demonic subjects had believed him when he declared he would be back regularly, and so they should behave accordingly. So perhaps he had succeeded in putting the fear of the Devil back into them. But the need to make these trips – especially during his few days with Chloe – grated on him.

Which was why Lucifer was having increasing difficulty being patient as he waited to hear from Raziel. His brother had warned him that his preparations could take some time (at least as far as those dwelling on Earth or in Hell reckoned), and there was no way Lucifer knew of to speed things along. But just because he knew pestering his brother would accomplish nothing didn’t mean he didn’t want to, at least half a dozen times a day.

Thankfully, there were a great many other things to occupy his mind most of the time. The three days he’d had with Chloe already had been more wonderful than he’d ever imagined. She truly was a miracle.

He supposed it was good of Raziel to contact him while he was asleep, with Chloe asleep next to him – rather than, for instance, contacting him a few hours earlier. At that point, the two of them had been very much occupied with each other. Still, it was not his favorite way to be dragged back to alertness.

 _Lucifer_ , came Raziel’s voice, sudden and loud. _Get up and come outside – unless you want me to interrupt your human companion’s peaceful slumber._

Sighing, Lucifer began the process of gently disentangling himself from the Detective’s embrace. She didn’t wake, though she did frown a bit in her sleep. _I’m coming_ , he told his brother. _Don’t come inside. Please_ , he added as an afterthought. After all, Raziel didn’t have to be doing this at all. With one quick kiss to the Detective’s temple, he stood up and pulled on his robe. Raziel wasn’t exactly a prude, but it was bound to be a bit chilly out there at this time of night.

His brother was waiting out on the back porch, leaning against the railing. He smirked as Lucifer shut the door behind himself. “Tell me, brother,” he said, “do you take all of your human toys out for private time together?”

It was mostly concern that he might wake Chloe that kept Lucifer’s response outwardly calm. “I do not _toy_ with any humans, unless they’re damned souls in Hell that require punishment. And that’s the end of that line of questioning, brother. I’m not interested in helping you discover the limits of my patience.”

Raziel raised his hands. “All right, all right, I understand,” he said – which Lucifer very much doubted was true. “And I didn’t come here just to provoke you. I came to tell you I’ve hit a bit of a snag with my preparations for the inter-realm surveillance devices.”

Lucifer blinked. “Well, first of all, that’s a terribly dull name and I’m going to have to come up with something better. Second, what snag?”

“It seems each one has to be keyed to the person who’s going to use it,” said Raziel, letting out a sigh. “So while I suppose that’s good for security – we wouldn’t want some random human to see into Hell before their time, after all – it means I can’t complete the test until I key the devices to you.”

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“My best guess is, they’ll each require something from you that represents both you and your ties to Hell.” Raziel shrugged a little. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you much more clarity than that, since this exact device has never been created before.”

Lucifer acknowledged that with a nod, and then frowned. “I don’t imagine a couple of my feathers would fit that description, as our wings are Dad-given.”

His brother shook his head. “No. I mean, I could try them, but it’s unlikely that would work. Unless you really want to look into Heaven instead.”

He scoffed, concealing the pang his brother’s casual dismissal of that idea caused despite everything. “Not interested,” he said. He kept his expression impassive, even as it occurred to him that in a matter of mere decades, he would be very, very interested in a means of seeing into the Silver City. Perhaps the devices could be retooled, when that horrific day struck.

“Then we’re stuck, unless you can think of something more infernal that’s still part of you,” said Raziel, seeming both genuinely regretful and not at all judgmental about the idea.

Lucifer considered and discarded the idea of trying to cut off just a small portion of his Devil wings. He supposed he could if he had to, but there had to be something he could try that would be less drastic. “I’ll think on that and get back to you by tomorrow night,” he told Raziel. There was one more idea floating around in his head. He would just need to do a bit of experimenting tonight, while Chloe was still asleep. She would not approve of what he had in mind, he was fairly sure.

“All right.” His brother nodded. “Until then.”

~~  
Chloe sighed and yawned, aware that it was still definitely dark out. She wasn’t sure what had woken her up, but it was mildly annoying that she was awake at all … especially after all the activity she’d been participating in just a few hours ago. The thought made her smile.

Her smile faded, however, when she rolled over and reach out, only to find that the other side of the bed was empty. Her eyes snapped open. Lucifer wasn’t there. He wasn’t in the room at all – although when she fumbled around and turned on the bedside lamp, she saw that his robe was gone from the chair where he’d left it.

Telling herself firmly that that was a good sign, that he hadn’t just disappeared or even been taken if he’d put on his robe first, Chloe got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She wasn’t panicking. She just … wanted to know what he was up to. That was all.

There was no sign of him in the house, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Chloe knew if Lucifer had needed to get up for whatever reason, he wouldn’t want to take the chance of waking her. So that left outside.

The moon was shining on the waves as she slipped on some flip-flops to exit onto the front porch. Chloe shut the door quietly behind her. She wasn’t distracted by the view of the ocean for long – because she could see a huge, dark shape on the sand, illuminated by that same moonlight. And there was no mistaking that silhouette.

Smiling as she recalled their wild, amazing flight together (okay, he’d been the one doing the actual flying) yesterday, Chloe opened her mouth to call out to him. But then she saw his whole body shudder, and heard him mutter something that sounded like a curse.

Chloe walked to the porch steps. “Lucifer?”

He froze. Then she saw him raise his head. “Chloe. Did I wake you?”

“I don’t think so,” said Chloe. “What are you doing out here?”

“I shouldn’t be long,” was his rather evasive response. “Don’t let me disturb your sleep any further, Detective. I’ll be back in in a few minutes.”

Well, now she was curious. And suspicious, and a little worried. “No, seriously, Lucifer,” she started to say. And then she took a few steps closer, and despite the dragon’s attempt to back away and cover it with his wing, she saw a patch of something that looked like dark liquid on his side. Dripping from-- “Oh my God, Lucifer! What the hell happened?”

“It has nothing whatsoever to do with Him,” Lucifer grumbled. His wings twitched, but his voice softened as he went on, “And it’s nothing for you to worry about, either.”

Chloe was not even close to convinced. “What happened?” she repeated. When she took another step closer, she gasped. Unless it was just a trick of the moonlight, there was blood on Lucifer’s mouth, too. Which meant…

“Oh,” said Lucifer, clearly having realized what she’d just seen. “I, ah… This isn’t what it looks like?”

“What … what do you think it looks like?” she managed to ask. “Are you stuck as a dragon again? Or--” Her throat closed, but she made herself keep going. “Or are you-- I mean, I thought you’d made some progress on that whole self-hatred issue.”

“I’m not stuck,” he said. His voice was low as he added, “And I’m not being self-destructive just for the sake of it. I promise you, Chloe.”

She let out a breath. “Okay. I believe you. But then why? What’s going on?”

“It’s for the, uh, inter-realm surveillance devices that my brother is creating,” Lucifer explained. “He said he needs to key them to me personally, and to do that, he needs something, some part of me that represents my Devilish nature. So I was trying to get off a few scales, but it’s, well, rather more difficult than I imagined to be at all precise with just my teeth or claws directed at myself.”

“Ah.” Chloe blinked. That … did make a certain amount of sense, she guessed. For a very strange definition of the phrase ‘making sense’. But the wound on his side looked to be much bigger than any caused by taking off just a few scales. “You didn’t want to maybe ask for help?”

“Well, no.” He ducked his head. “I thought you might find the idea of what I needed upsetting.”

She choked back a laugh that would have probably ended up sounding more than a little hysterical. “Uh, yeah, it’s upsetting,” she told him. “But it would be even more upsetting for me to let you keep hurting yourself without even getting what you need out of it, if I could have prevented that.”

At that, he took a step toward her. “Then I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

Nodding, Chloe laid her hand on his face. That was a good start, even though she was pretty sure he only acknowledged any wrongdoing in that he’d caused her to be anxious. The idea that she wouldn’t have liked him hurting himself if she only found out about it afterward clearly didn’t occur to him.

“Do you have any suggestions, Detective?” Lucifer went on, leaning into her touch. “I mean, other than getting a knife from the house, that is. I would honestly not prefer that solution.”

Chloe shuddered. “Me, neither.” She thought about the problem for several seconds as she absently stroked his face, and then something occurred to her. “Wait!” And then just as quickly, she shook her head. No, she was sure that wasn’t even applicable here. He wasn’t a snake or a lizard, exactly.

“What?”

Shrugging, she said, “I don’t know if this is even relevant to you, but … could you just shed your skin? The way some, um, non-supernatural reptiles do?”

He cocked his head and then laughed. “I have no idea – but it’s certainly worth exploring. Although perhaps pre-dawn is not the best time to search for any scales that are ready to be shed.”

Chloe briefly imagined going inside, finding a flashlight, and doing what he had just described. She smiled and shook her head. “No, I think daylight would be a useful thing in this situation – unless there’s some reason you need to get this to your brother right away?”

“Raziel’s not going to be back until tomorrow night – or tonight now, technically, I suppose,” was Lucifer’s response. He sighed. “So, back to bed then.”

It was a mark of the awkwardness of the situation that he didn’t even try for any innuendo there, Chloe thought. She patted the side of his neck and then yawned. “Sounds good.”

As she started to turn to go, he took a breath and then transformed. This time, he apparently hadn’t bothered to make himself any clothes – and in this form, the bloody spot on his side stood out even more starkly in the moonlight. He winced as he stood up, clapped a hand over the wound, and then hunched over to breathe heavily as if he’d just run a mile. That last part was the usual for him after he transformed back, she knew. But it still seemed worse this time, with the blood that was visible through his fingers. Chloe bit her lip.

“You, um, need any help?”

He shook his head, and straightened a few seconds later. But he did take her hand with the one of his that wasn’t pressed against his side. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes, Detective,” he said with a small smile.

Chloe returned the smile, though she couldn’t help feeling guilty, knowing as she did that if she weren’t here, he would already be healing. “Is there a first aid kit in the house?”

“Should be,” he said. “Under the bathroom sink. I try to keep all my properties stocked for the sake of my guests, if nothing else.”

Of course he did. Chloe squeezed his hand. That was the kind of thing she’d noticed about Lucifer even early on in their partnership: for all that he was seemingly clueless about so many social or politeness norms, in little ways like this, he was also unfailingly considerate. That was one of the interesting contradictions that made him who he was.

Once they got inside, Chloe went right for the first aid kit, which was just where he’d said it would be. Lucifer didn’t follow her into the bathroom. In fact, when she came back out with the kit, he’d slipped on a pair of pajama pants that Chloe didn’t even recognize, and was sitting on the end of the bed. He didn’t speak as she set it down next to him. Then on further thought, she went back into the bathroom for a handful of paper towels.

Somewhat to her surprise, he continued not to say anything while she cleaned the wound (which looked even more grisly up close) and bandaged it. Sure, he flinched a few times, but there was none of the usual semi-playful whining she might expect in a situation like this. Whenever she looked at his face, in fact, he seemed far away. But once she was finished, he came back to the present in order to smile at her and thank her.

“You’re welcome,” she told him, feeling oddly like she wanted to start crying. Maybe because it was so early in the morning. Maybe that was part of the reason he was so quiet, too.

“I guess I should wash up,” he said then, looking down at his bloodstained hand. With that, he stood up and gathered all the first aid supplies. She had already washed her hands. “You should go back to bed, Detective. I’ll be along shortly.”

He was still probably in pain, Chloe reflected, as she nodded and slid back under the covers. Pain that would already be healing if she weren’t here. But then, if she weren’t here … would he be here? On Earth, instead of in Hell? She knew if she were to ask, he would tell her without hesitation that a little bit of pain in the process of making these devices was infinitely worth it, if it meant spending less time in Hell. And she wasn’t so full of herself that she imagined he’d be fine with staying in Hell if it weren’t for her. He’d already hated it, long before meeting her. Which wasn’t a surprise, given that it was freaking _Hell_. She had read enough myths, legends, and scripture about the place to have an idea…

Or maybe she didn’t have any idea. After all, everyone had gotten so much wrong about the Devil himself; why would any of their descriptions of his domain be at all accurate? Chloe frowned.

Lucifer came back into the room, stopping when she looked up at his face. “You’re still awake.”

“Yeah.”

He sighed. “I didn’t want to keep you from sleeping.”

“Lucifer...” She echoed his sigh, as he made his way back around to his side of the bed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re not still out there alone, making that hole in your side even bigger.”

He looked indignant for half a second in the light of her bedside lamp. “I might have gotten what I needed by this point. Possibly.”

“Uh huh.” She waited until he was under the covers, and turned out the light. Then she rolled over so she was facing him. She thought of Trixie asking Lucifer whether he had friends in Hell. “Lucifer?”

“Yes, Chloe?”

“Do you remember, during that case last year on the set of that reality TV show--”

“--When the murderer turned out to be the cameraman who wanted his share of the prize money? Yes, of course I remember,” he cut in, but without any harshness.

Chloe had been about to describe it as the case where she had accidentally cut him with an axe, but she nodded, knowing he would see it in the darkness of their room. “Do you remember--” But it was harder than she expected to ask her next question. That was because she suddenly recalled, with perfect clarity, the hurt in his expression when she had begun to take him up on his offer of discussing anything she wanted to know.

_“What’s it like down there? All those people you tortured. Did you enjoy it?”_

_“It was a job, Detective. Something I was forced to do.”_

Some of that must have been showing on her face, because he reached out and touched her cheek gently. “Do I remember what?”

“We started to have a conversation,” Chloe made herself answer. “You told me-- you told me I could ask you whatever questions I might have.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Yes, I recall that conversation.”

Shame burned in her gut. She still hated how her fear had made her forget who her partner was, the kind of man he was. How she ever could have believed any of the awful things Father Kinley had told her about Lucifer, and agreed to betray him, she didn’t understand.

“Chloe,” he said, reaching out again to urge her closer, “darling, what did you want to ask? The offer still stands.”

He knew what she was thinking about. He had to know. But he wasn’t angry at this reminder. She swallowed and nodded, moving so that he could wrap his arms around her. “This doesn’t hurt your side?”

“It’s no problem,” was his not-quite-direct answer. She decided not to push.

“I just--” She tried to gather her thoughts. “What’s Hell like? If you had to describe it in ten words or less.”

He took a slow breath, which she could feel as she was pressed against him. “Ten words or less, hmm? Dark. Hopeless. Not all that much fire everywhere, actually, but an unending supply of ash.” Then he let out a rueful chuckle. “I’m afraid that’s getting closer to twenty. Sorry.”

“That’s fine. It’s a … vivid start.” She tried to picture it, though she was sure her imagination was very far off from reality. “And there are lots of demons, and damned souls...”

“Yes. And the demons don’t look like Maze, or the ones you saw up here possessing human bodies,” he told her. “True, some of them resemble humans on a superficial level, but they’re the exception. Even Maze looks a little different when she’s down there.”

Chloe blinked. She thought about Lucifer, and his Devil face, and wondered how Maze’s demon face compared. Maybe she’d ask Maze sometime, but not while Trixie was around.

“I can describe it more if you’re curious, Detective, but I’ll warn you that it’s not very pleasant imagery to fall asleep to,” he said, after a brief pause.

She yawned then, and shook her head. “Not right now. Maybe later.” Now, she thought maybe she could go back to sleep. Though it was odd that him talking about Hell should be comforting in any way. “But thank you for telling me a little bit. And I’m really glad you’re here, and not there.” Aha. That was it. That was why it was comforting.

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, and she felt him kiss her head. “And I hope I can adequately communicate to you just how happy I am to be here with you.”

~~


	3. Chapter 3

~~  
To both of their relief, the process of finding some loose scales the next morning neither took ages nor involved any bleeding. Just as Chloe had guessed, in fact, it seemed that he shared that with other reptiles while he was in dragon form – although part of him was sort of offended that anyone with skin as perfect as his was normally would need to shed it even while he was transformed.

“Do you--” Chloe asked, as she touched the patch of skin on his back (in a spot which would have been nearly impossible for him to reach, even if he’d been able to see it) that looked ready to come off. “Is this going to hurt?”

“I doubt it,” said Lucifer. “It seems like it’s the same idea as exfoliating, but on a rather larger scale.”

As it turned out, it didn’t hurt in the slightest. It was actually sort of satisfying. But Lucifer didn’t make Chloe handle any more of the process than she had to; as soon as he could, he transformed back, put the piece of skin into an envelope he’d made sure would be ready, and allowed himself a sigh of relief. There should be no reason this wouldn't work for his brother’s surveillance devices. Which meant the rest of his vacation with Chloe would hopefully be as stress-free as possible.

“So,” he asked, once they were both back inside the house, and the Detective was enjoying her morning coffee, “what would you like to do today?”

Chloe set down her mug and pondered his question for a few moments. Then her expression changed to the one he was beginning to recognize as her attempt to not be embarrassed or bashful. “Well,” she said, “there is one thing I’ve been kind of wanting to do, if you’re okay with it.”

“Do tell,” he said, leaning on the counter. He hoped she was learning that he wasn’t ever going to be shocked or mock her when she shared her desires.

“It’s just, I’ve seen your wings when you’re in dragon form a few times now,” she said. Her fingers traced the rim of her mug. “And we flew together. But I’ve only seen your other wings – your angel wings – for a few seconds at a time. But I also know you’ve had mixed feelings about them before, so...”

Ah. So it was only partially embarrassment. The rest was concern for him, because of course it was. Lucifer shook his head once, smiling and reaching out to touch her face. “I do believe I could spend many years in your company and still be surprised by you, Detective,” he told her. “Thank you, truly, for considering that. But my wings don’t upset me anymore. I can acknowledge that they’re useful – and Dad-given or not, that means I can use them as _I_ want to use them.”

She returned his smile, in that way of hers that made him want to live up to her idea of who he could be. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”

With some difficulty, Lucifer stopped himself from just staring at her and cleared his throat. “Right. We’ll need some space, though obviously not quite as much as for my dragon.” He walked over to the middle of the smallish living room, and then pushed one of the end tables toward the wall before resuming his central position. Then, very aware of the woman who was observing him, he unfurled his wings.

He wasn’t going to deny that hearing her soft gasp and seeing the awe on her face was gratifying. He made no move to put them away, and in fact only relaxed them slightly as she left her coffee and came closer. At his nod, she reached out and rested her hand gently on his left wing, just where his topmost primary feather emerged from the coverts. The sensation was enough to make him shiver and close his eyes. He’d imagined feeling Chloe touch his wings before, as no one had in far, far too long. But reality was much better than his imagination.

“They’re so soft,” said Chloe, wondering. She moved her hand along that primary, but when he shivered again, she stopped. “Sorry. Should I not--?”

“No, you should,” he interjected, aware of how his voice sounded right now. He opened his eyes, meeting hers. “You definitely should.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.” As color rose in her cheeks, she resumed her motion.

A thought occurred to Lucifer then, despite his being rather distracted. “Just, ah, take care not to reverse direction. These aren’t the same as a bird’s feathers.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re meant to be able to use our wings as weapons,” he explained, “which means each one of those particular feathers could slice your hand. Though that would only happen if you didn’t know to be careful, and if I wasn’t taking care as well.”

“Oh. Wow.” She didn’t draw her hand back, but she did pick it up rather carefully when she reached the end of the pinion. “They really don’t _feel_ sharp at all.”

Lucifer made a mental note to see if he could introduce the topic of making this a regular thing with her. It had been, well, ages since anyone had really, thoroughly groomed his wings, and to say that he’d missed it was an understatement. But for now, he’d thought she was trying to ask for something else. So as incredible as this felt, he probably shouldn’t let himself get lost in the sensations. He cleared his throat again. “You mentioned flying. Were you hoping to fly with me in this form again?”

Chloe stopped her ministrations, which made him sigh a little. “Yeah. I mean, sort of.” She looked a tiny bit flustered. “I didn’t exactly get to see much last time, and it felt more like … teleportation?”

He had been in the process of partially folding his wings, but at that, he choked and stopped, feathers quite literally ruffled. “ _Teleportation?_ ”

“I mean, we were out in the middle of the desert, and then we were at Lux just a few seconds later,” she pointed out with a shrug. “What else should I call it?”

“It’s nothing like that absurd science fiction concept!” he said with a huff. “It’s a straightforward matter of dimensional--” Then he frowned, as he tried to imagine putting that method of travel into words at all, much less words that would make sense to a human. “Well, fine, I suppose you can call it teleportation, if you wish.”

“Thank you,” said the Detective wryly. “Anyway, my point was, yes, I’d like to fly with you again if that’s okay, with you as your non-dragon self, but … could we take more of the long way around this time?”

“Ah.” Now he could see what she was getting at. It was true that a quick jaunt between locations, even locations on the same plane, didn’t leave much time for actually experiencing what was happening. “That could be arranged, yes. We just have to agree on a destination.”

She gave him a sudden, beaming smile. “You can pick. Somewhere beautiful. Surprise me.”

He raised his eyebrows. Now that was unusual. His Detective was not normally known for spontaneity. “Really?”

“Really.” She reached with her other hand to lay it on the side of his face. “I trust you.”

Lucifer had to take several seconds before he could respond. She was being completely sincere, and the truth of her statement still had the power to overwhelm him. He turned his head so he could kiss her palm. “Thank you, Chloe,” he said quietly. “I shall endeavor not to let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t,” she said. Then she bit her lip. “But, um, I’m not trying to put you on the spot, either. Wherever you take me, I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Once again doing his best to keep his mind on the task she had given him, rather than letting himself be distracted by anything else (there was plenty of time for everything else, after all), Lucifer considered their options. He could take her anywhere on Earth, potentially. But many places that he might have thought were beautiful and even romantic were not in this time zone – and Chloe had said she wanted to be able to enjoy the trip, to be able to see where they were going. So, somewhere more local would be best. “How do you feel about taking some of the trip via so-called teleportation, and then another, somewhat slower flight from there?”

Chloe nodded. “Sounds reasonable. Let me put on some more clothes first, though.”

“If you must,” said Lucifer. She rolled her eyes, hiding a smile as she walked back toward the bedroom.

In deference to Chloe’s sensibilities and the faint (he hoped) chance that the two of them might be observed, Lucifer also made himself a bit more presentable. And then, thinking about it for a moment longer, he came out of the bathroom where he’d been styling his hair and said to Chloe, “You may want to bring a jacket. It’ll be windy where we’re going.”

“Okay.” And then she raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you bother putting that stuff in your hair?”

He shrugged. “This will be a good test of its resilience.”

“Somehow I don’t think it was made with angel flight in mind,” she said, but then she took his hand. “We ready?”

“Yes, I think so.” He walked with her outside – the better to avoid accidentally knocking into anything with his wings, once he unfurled them. Then she was standing in front of him, getting ready for him to carry her again, stealing glances at his wings as she did so. This time, however, he and Chloe were both safe and well. No mobsters or chasms leading to Hell in sight, and the bruising on her face was nearly gone. By her expression, he could tell she was remembering the same moment.

She put her arms around his neck. “No need to spend a lot of time thinking about that day, hmm?”

“Agreed,” he said, and then lifted her into his arms.

Lucifer wasn’t sure there was any way to make the ‘teleportation’ portion of the flight less disorienting for a human. Still, at least he landed on the rocky beach without stumbling at all. He heard Chloe gasp a little as he set her down.

“Lucifer,” she breathed, looking around, “this is amazing. Where...” And then her gaze found the lighthouse on the cliff not too far away from them. “Wait. Is this Palos Verdes?”

“Right in one,” said Lucifer. He put his hands in his pockets, having long since folded his wings in case of any other observers. “Have you been here before, then?”

“We – my family drove past here once, when I was a kid,” she said, still staring around with wide eyes and a delighted smile. “We stopped for a little bit at the park, but we were going on a trip, so we couldn’t stay long. It’s even more beautiful than I remember!”

That sounded like he’d chosen well. Lucifer followed her gaze, looking out over the Pacific and feeling the breeze off the ocean. It was, in fact, quite lovely here. He’d been here a number of times, sometimes alone and sometimes with a guest or two. But it had been a while. And it was early enough now that there weren’t many other humans around.

He was content to walk along the beach with Chloe for however long she liked. The next phase of his plan didn’t have a time limit – although he supposed there was a chance that the lighthouse might have more people there later in the day. Right now it was still fairly early, though.

After they’d walked for a while, hand in hand, Chloe turned to him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome – but this wasn’t meant to be all of the trip, unless of course you’d rather not take a longer flight, after all.” He glanced up into the air. “Although with weather as clear as this, I supposed we’ll have to go up rather high in order to avoid being seen by any earthbound humans.”

“Whoa.” Chloe followed his gaze. “Um, yeah, there aren’t very many clouds at all. Are we going to end up starring in some tourist’s bad-quality cell phone video?”

“Perhaps,” he granted. Though from such a distance, at least, no one should be able to be affected too negatively by a glimpse of divinity. Then he looked at her face, trying to read her expression. “Do you-- would you rather skip it, then? I can just take us back to the beach house.”

She thought for a second, and then shook her head. “No. I don’t want to skip it.” She came over and wrapped her arms around his neck again, with a playful grin. “So, show me what you’ve got.”

He chuckled. “Well, I don’t think you really want me to do _that_ here,” was his response.

For that, he got a swat on the back of the head. But he only complained a little, since right after that, she leaned closer to his ear and said, “No, not here. But later.”

“As long as that’s a promise, Detective,” he returned, and then hoisted her into his arms before she could say anything further. Her surprised little squeak was a sound he would definitely be treasuring in his memories, he thought in satisfaction.

Once she was secure, Lucifer took one more quick look around to make sure they weren’t in sight of any other humans, and then spread his wings. In another few seconds, they were aloft.

Though Chloe had tightened her grip on him almost to the point of pain when they first left the ground, she relaxed a bit not long after. He thought that was a good sign. As he gained altitude, she turned her head to look around them. Her eyes were wide in amazement again, Lucifer saw.

He angled their path toward his goal while still increasing altitude. This was a tourist attraction, after all; there were bound to be a few people about even at this time of morning. Thus, the higher they could go while still maintaining adequate oxygen levels, the better.

“Lucifer,” she said – yelled, really, since the rushing wind around them would have made it hard to hear her otherwise, “are you taking me to the lighthouse?”

“Another excellent guess,” he told her, also more loudly than usual. “The top level, to be precise. Not usually open to the public.”

They both decided not to talk more after that, until Lucifer landed them on the balcony outside the lantern room. He folded his wings quickly, not wanting to make the space feel cramped. Then Chloe smiled and ran a hand along his face, before hurrying over to the edge of the balcony that looked out over the ocean so she could lean against the railing. “This is such an incredible view!”

Lucifer followed her more slowly, the better to appreciate her appreciating the cliff and the ocean spread out in front of them. “It is, isn’t it?” he agreed.

They were quiet for a while, simply enjoying the breeze, and the not-too-distant sound of waves and seabirds. Then Chloe turned to face him. “You know, I didn’t know you liked to spend time out in nature. I thought you were more of a city guy.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really, Detective? When one of the most well-known stories about me takes place in a garden?”

She opened her mouth, and then shook her head. “Okay, good point, but there weren’t any cities back then, so...”

“No, you’re not wrong,” he relented. “Normally, I prefer cities to empty swathes of nature. Those might be fine to look at from a distance, but you certainly won’t ever find me _camping_ , or any nonsense like that. Why you humans would purposefully choose to cut yourselves off from all the comforts you’ve invented and return to the era of burning your food over an open flame while you breathe in smoke and ash, I’ve never understood.”

Laughing, Chloe said, “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of nuts.”

Not for the first time, Lucifer noted how much pleasure it gave him to make this woman laugh. It wasn’t like he usually had any trouble making a companion of his laugh, but as in all things, Chloe was special. Every laugh of hers that he caused – even unintentionally, sometimes – was something he cherished.

Chloe was about to say something further when her gaze sharpened on a point behind and above him. “Um. Lucifer.”

“Yes, my dear?”

“That looks like a security camera, doesn’t it?”

He turned and followed her gaze, to a small black object above the door that presumably led to the staircase to reach the balcony where they were. “Ah. Yes, it rather does.”

“And it’s on, isn’t it?”

Lucifer stepped closer. “Judging by the little red light in the corner there, yes. Shall I remove it?”

“No!” she called out, stopping him as he reached for it. “No, no, that’s – I think this is all US Coast Guard property.”

He put his hand down. “Right. And you don’t want to piss off your country’s military, I suppose?”

“Any more than we already have, anyway,” Chloe said.

Hardly had she finished speaking when the staircase door opened, and a young man in uniform stepped out. His hand was on his gun, though he hadn’t drawn it, and his face was serious. “Sir, ma’am, this is government property. I don’t know how you got up here--”

Chloe had just started to apologize, when Lucifer squinted at the man’s face. Yes, last time he’d seen him, this fellow had facial hair and a better haircut, but… “Troy? That is you, isn’t it?”

The Coast Guard officer blinked, and then his jaw dropped. “Lucifer?”

“So you two know each other,” Chloe said, glancing between the two men.

“Yes, this is Troy Walters,” said Lucifer with a smile. “Troy came to me for a favor a little over four years ago, and I was happy to help him with his request. Troy, this is Detective Chloe Decker. LAPD homicide division, though not currently on duty.”

“Oh,” said Troy, blinking again. “Uh, nice to meet you, ma’am.” Well, he at least wasn’t worse with women than he had been when Lucifer had last seen him.

“Nice to meet you, too,” said Chloe. “And I’m really sorry about the whole trespassing thing. We didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Did we, Lucifer?”

“Hmm?” She elbowed him and gave him a significant look. “Oh, right. Yes, of course, we weren’t attempting to cause any trouble. Not really. Just enjoying the view. But tell me, how have you been doing, Troy? I see you found a steady job, at least.” He gestured to the uniform.

Troy nodded, with a small but genuine smile. “Yes, I did. It’s been going really well. And I have a girlfriend, too.”

“Wonderful!” Lucifer said. “So that pharmacist I recommended must have done the trick?”

At that, Troy’s eyes went wide, his face went a striking shade of pink, and he shot a glance at Chloe. Chloe looked like she might be trying to hold back a laugh. She cleared her throat. “Okay. Anyway. We should probably get going, Lucifer. Wouldn’t want to get your friend in any trouble with his commanding officers, or anything.”

That was probably a consideration, with Troy’s job being what it was. And Lucifer also shouldn’t terrify the poor young man into a gibbering mess by letting him see his wings, so… “In that case, Troy, would you mind terribly making sure that security camera footage for the last half hour or so gets deleted without anyone watching it, including you? We promise to leave without any mischief.”

“Well, I do definitely owe you for your, um, help,” said Troy, blushing again. “So, yeah, I can do that. No one else knows for sure that anyone’s up here. In fact, they thought I was crazy when I said someone was here, since no one saw anyone get past the fence.” At that, he gave them both a curious and confused look.

“Excellent,” said Lucifer, clapping Troy on the shoulder. “Much appreciated. You trot along then, and Detective Decker and I will leave the same way we arrived, no dilly-dallying. Devil’s honor.”

“Okay.” He still looked confused, but he nodded. “Thanks again, Lucifer.”

“You’re quite welcome. Bring your girlfriend by Lux sometime,” said Lucifer, as Troy turned to leave. “We’d love to meet her!”

“Next time I have vacation,” Troy pledged, and then shut the door behind himself.

Chloe let out a breath. “I’m just going to say this right now: please don’t tell me any more details about the favor you did for Troy.”

He supposed that could be awkward, given her job and all those frustrating laws surrounding who could dispense medicine legally and who couldn’t. “Very well. Now, I know this excursion just ended a bit more abruptly than we might have hoped, but are you ready for the return trip?”

Chloe eyed the security camera for a second, and said, “Sure, but let's walk around so we’re at least most of the way out of the camera’s line of sight. Just in case your pal Troy makes a mistake getting rid of the footage.”

“I’m sure he won’t,” said Lucifer, “but better safe than having a whole lot of military types tracking us down and interrogating me about my wings, I’ll grant you.”

“Thank you.” As they walked a little bit further around the balcony, Chloe took his hand again and gave him another smile. “And thank you, for this. Sudden ending or not, it was wonderful.”

“Any time, love,” he told her. Perhaps next time he could try taking her somewhere further afield.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it was a bit more than a month between chapters. Apologies. Maaaybe less time between this and the last chapter?
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this mostly-fluffy section. If any of you have actually been to Palos Verdes or the Point Vicente Lighthouse, feel free to nitpick anything I wrote about them. They sure look gorgeous in photos, though!


	4. Chapter 4

~~  
When Lucifer’s brother showed up that night, Chloe was still awake. Therefore, she insisted on going outside with him after he heard Raziel’s summons. “I’m not just going to sit around in here while you talk to him,” Chloe said, reaching to put on some clothes. “I know I can’t actually stop an angel from doing anything to you if he decides to, but I can at least...” She shrugged. “Offer moral support.”

He stopped in the middle of tying the sash on his robe to stare at her. “Moral support?”

“Yeah.” She returned his look with some confusion. “You know – prove to your brother that you have someone on your side, even if I am just a human.”

He raised his eyebrows, and then grinned. “Well, I have no idea what Raziel will make of that, but if that’s what you wish to do, then by all means let’s find out.”

She had to admit to herself that she was a little nervous going out there, barely dressed, to face that angel who had seemed so smug and superior in their last interaction. But she meant what she’d just said to Lucifer. Since almost all of his siblings apparently had given up on him or were only interested in him when it suited them, she was going to make sure he had someone there with him.

“There you are, brother,” said Raziel when they opened the front door. He was leaning against the porch railing, though he stood up when he saw Chloe. “And you brought your human companion.”

“Actually, he didn’t _bring me_ ,” said Chloe, raising her chin. “I came because I wanted to.”

“I see,” said the other angel. Then his gaze went to Lucifer. “Do you have the ingredient I need?”

“Yes, I do.” Lucifer passed him the envelope with a piece of his shedded dragon skin inside. (Which … yes, Chloe had known for a while now that her partner was the Devil and could transform into a dragon at will. But she reminded herself again that it was still okay to find this whole thing crazy. Because it was.) “A bit of me that’s tied to my Devil nature, as stipulated.”

Raziel opened the envelope and peered inside. The single porch light wasn’t very bright, but Chloe supposed that wouldn't have to bother an angel. Maybe they all had supernaturally good vision. “Seems adequate,” he said. “What is it, exactly? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Do you need to know the details in order to make those surveillance devices work?” said Chloe before Lucifer could speak, crossing her arms. She had felt him tense up at the question.

“I suppose not,” said Raziel. He looked amused. “But I am curious.”

She was about to give him another heated reply when Lucifer touched her shoulder. “I’m sure you are, brother,” he said, tone dry. “And since I wouldn't be able to have these devices without your help, I’ll tell you this much: I can choose to look entirely different than I do now, when I wish.”

“Right, that self-actualization thing that Amenadiel came and told us all about recently,” Raziel said with a nod. He narrowed his eyes at Lucifer. “Fascinating.”

Chloe gritted her teeth. Hearing Lucifer’s brother treat him like an interesting scientific case to study was making it really hard to keep her cool. It wouldn’t help the situation to lose her temper, though. So she just glared.

“Isn’t it?” was Lucifer’s deceptively mild response. “Now, unless there’s anything else...”

“No, that should do it,” the angel said. Then he grinned. “You two can feel free to get back to your fun. I’ll contact you again when they’re ready.” With that, he spread his wings and vanished.

Lucifer gave a grin of his own, though Chloe could tell it was not genuine. “Well. Now he has what he needs to finish the devices, and then once I have them, if I’m lucky, I won’t have any reason to see him again for another several millennia.”

“And you said he’s one of your more pleasant siblings?” She scoffed and looked at him. “The rest of them must be unbearable.”

“There are a few exceptions – my sister Azrael, for instance, and of course Amenadiel has mellowed to quite an astonishing degree – but I don’t disagree overall,” was his response.

As she followed him back into the house, that name clicked into place. “Wait. Azrael? Isn’t that-- isn’t _she_ the Angel of Death?”

“She is,” said Lucifer, “but don’t hold that against her. It’s a job. Someone’s got to ferry all those human souls to where they belong.”

“Ah.” Chloe supposed that made sense, since she’d learned that being the Devil was also a job.

“I think you two would like each other,” he went on, as they headed back toward the bedroom. Then he fixed her with a sudden serious, almost panicky look. “Not that I want there to be-- I mean, it would have to be only a social call on her part, of course.”

It took her a second to connect the dots, and then she took his hand. “Of course. Just a social call.” She knew they both were far too aware how brief their time together could be – would be, compared to how long he’d been in existence. Neither of them particularly liked to talk or think about it, though.

They went to bed after that, and Chloe fell asleep quickly. But it wasn’t too many hours later that she was awakened out of a disturbing dream – and it wasn’t more than a few seconds after she’d woken that she figured out what had caused her to wake up: next to her, Lucifer was dreaming, too. And it must have been about something terrible.

He was shifting around on the bed, muttering and occasionally moaning. When Chloe leaned closer, he flinched away from her, his face twisted into a grimace. But she’d barely had a chance to back away (in case he had somehow actually noticed her in his sleep, and whatever nightmare he was having had turned her into a threat) and whisper his name, when he sprang upright with a growl, eyes red in the darkness.

“Lucifer?” said Chloe, wishing her voice hadn’t come out so small. “Are you-- awake now?”

He flinched at her voice, but then turned to face her, eyes returning to their normal color. “Chloe?”

“Yeah, it’s just me.” She offered him a shaky smile. “I promise.”

His jaw worked for a few seconds, and then he moved toward her slowly. “You’re really here? This isn’t just a very convincing Hell loop?”

Chloe frowned a bit. “Well, since I don’t know what a Hell loop is...”

“Oh.” And then he was reaching out to pull her toward him, with something that felt a lot like desperation. Chloe didn’t protest, and in fact she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could in return. He was shaking.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chloe said softly, in the same tone she used with Trixie after a nightmare. She stroked her hands over his back. “It’s okay. It was just a dream. I’m here.”

Lucifer got himself under control in only a few seconds, but he didn’t release her for a little while longer. And then, just as Chloe had been afraid would happen, he suddenly stiffened and pulled away. “I apologize, Detective,” he said, clearing his throat and looking down at the rumpled sheets in front of him. “That was unseemly, and I’m sorry if I caused you any distress.”

“Lucifer. No.” Chloe leaned closer again, relieved when he at least didn’t scoot further away. “You don’t need to apologize. You had a nightmare. I’m glad I could be here for you when you woke up out of it.”

He looked up at her. Even in the darkness, she could almost see his skepticism. “You wouldn't rather be sleeping peacefully? And didn’t I scare you when I woke up?”

“Lucifer...” She sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. He wouldn’t be satisfied with her answer if she tried to dismiss his concerns. She had to say this right. “Yes, now is a time of night when I usually like to be asleep, and-- yes, you startled me a little bit just now. But I’m willing to give that up, because it’s also important to me that you are able to sleep well, without reliving bad memories in your dreams. If that’s what that was.”

After a second, he shuddered. “Some of it came from actual life experience, yes,” he said. “But some was just my endlessly entertaining imagination.”

“Right.” Chloe laid a hand on his arm. “Which isn’t different from what a lot of humans go through, though granted they don’t have millennia of experience to dream about. But either way, the point is, you don’t have to be alone when you have those dreams now. I care about you, so I’d rather be awake for a short while in the middle of the night if it means I can help you relax again after a nightmare.”

“Oh, you’d like to help me _relax_ , would you?” was his predictable response. But before she could get too exasperated, he let out his breath and leaned back against the headboard. “Well. In any case, I-- I’m not upset that you woke me out of that dream.”

“Good.” Chloe joined him, leaning back beside him. She wasn’t sure he really believed everything she’d told him yet, but this was a start. She licked her lips. “Because I know – if it were the other way around, if I woke up next to you and I was scared from a really awful dream, you wouldn't respect me any less, or wish I hadn’t bothered you.”

He scoffed. “Of course not! That would never happen, Chloe.”

“Then the same goes for me with you,” she told him.

He didn’t reply, but at least he didn’t contradict her.

Chloe debated with herself for a while, and then decided she might as well ask. “So, what’s a Hell loop?”

Lucifer turned to face her. “I guess you’d have no reason to know, would you?” And then he explained what most of the punishment in Hell was really like.

Chloe’s jaw dropped during his explanation, and then she shook her head. Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising that humans were the architects of so much of their own damnation, but it was. “So it really just depends on people’s guilt?”

“Their destination after they die does, yes,” he confirmed. “But the level of demonic punishment can be, er, varied once a human soul reaches Hell. Depending on what they truly deserve.”

She shivered. This brought up a whole new set of questions – but she wasn’t sure she wanted to get into them all right now. There was only one that needed to be asked at this point. “So why did you ask me if-- if you were in a Hell loop when you woke up? You’re the king of Hell. You don’t have to be in one when you’re down there … do you?”

Now he looked uneasy, if she could judge at all in the very low light. “No, I don’t have to be,” he said. “But I have been. Just once or twice.”

That seemed … problematic, that the king of Hell could be trapped by his own guilt. Not that Chloe doubted he had enough of that to get trapped. She’d seen the physical, visible evidence of his guilt, after all. She frowned. It really seemed like that shouldn’t be allowed to happen. Lucifer’s Dad had a lot to answer for. “Well, I know I’ve already told you this more than once,” she said, “but I’m glad you’re not in Hell – and I’m _really_ glad you’re not stuck in a loop. Please try to stay out of them whenever you go back, if you can.”

“I shall do my very best,” was his prompt response. “Not that it was intentional last time, mind you, but the point stands.”

“Maybe you can tell me about it sometime,” suggested Chloe.

He made a noncommittal sound, and then lay back down on the pillow. “Let’s see if we can’t both get some more rest now that that’s passed, hmm?”

“Okay.” Chloe lay down next to him. She yawned and then moved closer so she could kiss his shoulder. “As long as you know I’m here if you need me.”

Turning to kiss her forehead, he said, “I’m beginning to see that, yes.” She thought she saw his eyes gleam again, but with something very different from hellfire this time.

~~  
He was falling again – falling, and burning and screaming. It was endless, but unlike the first time, at least he knew what was going to happen next. Or was that a good thing? No, there was nothing good about this. It only meant he could anticipate each agonizing phase of his fall more precisely.

This was a dream. Lucifer knew it was a dream. He wasn’t the freshly-exiled rebel who had crashed into the floor of Hell in a bloody, broken heap. He was…

He was standing over the cowering form of Dromos, as the demon lay bleeding at his feet. He knew that his wings, which had been so recently white and feathered as he flew away and left Chloe on his balcony, were now huge, hideous leathery things, to match the rest of his Devil form. What was supposed to happen next was him exacting justice on the traitor who had caused so much pain (he had warned Dromos that incineration could be in his future, though he didn’t usually draw it out to this extent). But to his horror, Lucifer looked down to see not Dromos wailing in agony beneath him. No. Somehow, even though he was still in Hell, he was now standing on top of a crushed police car. He was the one who had crushed it. And as countless demons looked on with fear and glee, he was continuing to press down on the roof of the vehicle – with the Detective, her daughter, Linda, and Charlie all inside. They were terrified. They were screaming his name. But he couldn’t stop himself. And because of that, now the car was beginning to melt around them, as well.

“Lucifer!” Chloe screamed, and Trixie did the same. “Help us! Please, stop this!” Their fear was horrifying.

Finally, Lucifer managed to pull himself off the car, though it was insanely difficult. He’d barely had a chance to straighten and fold his wings when the dream took another turn – and not for the better.

Now the demons that had been cowering from him were swarming the mangled police cruiser. They made short work of tearing off the roof and the doors. Lucifer let out a furious roar and made to lunge forward. But he couldn’t move. He was stuck in place. And his wings were gone, and somehow he was bleeding from a bite wound to the side. He forced himself to take a step forward. The pain was intense. But the demons had now grabbed the Detective and her offspring, while a screaming Linda tried to protect the hysterically-sobbing Charlie with her body. This was unendurable. This was his own personal Hell. Maybe he was in a Hell loop somehow? That would explain why he couldn’t get to these people he cared about, no matter how hard he tried. They were going to die in agony while he watched.

“Stop this!” he tried to shout, to command the demons. But only a few of them even seemed to hear him. And those few only sneered at him, while Chloe continued to cry out his name.

And then suddenly he was awake, in the bed he was sharing with Chloe at his beach house. It was nighttime, and she herself was looking at him with what looked a bit like fear. Perhaps it was. Maybe he’d scared her. Was this even real? Or was the whole loop just about to reset itself, from his fall onward?

But if it was, there was no reason he could think of for the loop to include Chloe allowing him to hold her tightly in his arms. Which she was doing now. He shut his eyes and breathed her in. That was her scent. There was no hint of Hell here – besides the part he always carried with himself.

That, of course, was the very thing he wanted to keep Chloe from ever having to endure. He pulled away, out of her arms, though she didn’t seem to want to let go. “I apologize, Detective,” he told her. Here they were, on vacation together, and because of him, Hell kept intruding even when they were both supposed to be at rest. 

Only the Detective refused to let him apologize – and although it would have been easier for him to understand if she’d only woken him up because his restlessness was bothering her, it turned out to be nothing of the sort. “You don’t have to be alone when you have those dreams now,” she said, and it really seemed like she meant it.

He was almost grateful for the change in topic when she asked him what a Hell loop was – almost. It wasn’t as if this was easy to talk about with her, either. She was too clever, too good at asking probing questions and quickly considering the implications of anything he might tell her, even when woken out of sleep in the middle of the night. It was the detective in her, he supposed. He knew that not answering her questions wasn’t really an option, either. Still, when she suggested he might tell her about the last time he was caught in a Hell loop, he evaded an answer as best he could. If he had his way, she never needed to know any of the details surrounding what had happened when she’d nearly died from that poison. Especially anything more than she already knew about Uriel.

Chloe didn’t push, thankfully. She only kissed his shoulder and told him, “As long as you know I’m here if you need me.”

Lucifer pressed his lips to her forehead in turn, his heart full. If only she knew how much he needed her. “I’m beginning to see that, yes,” he said. Because he was starting to believe that this woman really did desire to be here with him, and be here for him. 

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep again after that. He wasn’t sure he wanted to allow himself to follow her into slumber. Even knowing Chloe was going to be right next to him didn’t make the potential for returning to that sort of dream even remotely appealing. On the other hand, he didn’t want to be drifting off during the day tomorrow. He smiled suddenly, thinking of that treacly sweet Aerosmith song that had been on one of her 90s playlists. Perhaps if he concentrated on listening to the sound of Chloe’s breathing and the feel of her right next to him, he could have more pleasant dreams. After all, he had already returned to Hell – and then climbed back out of its depths – for her. Maybe there really was nothing preventing him from savoring this time on Earth while they both had it.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the last couple of months kind of got away from me. Whoops. At least I posted the last chapter before the end of the year?
> 
> Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented! Hope this short final chapter brings you some cheer. (Also, twenty internet points to anyone who can guess what Aerosmith song Lucifer is referring to in that last paragraph...)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope it doesn't seem like I'm in any way copying NoontimeOwl's very enjoyable and interesting "Fallen One, Fallen Two" by including Raziel here! I'd been looking for an angel that would fulfill this role in my story, and Raziel seemed perfect. (If you're interested to learn more, Wikipedia's article on him is where I started.)
> 
> Also, in my head, my version of Raziel looks and sounds like Leo Fitz from _Agents of SHIELD_ , though he's not nearly as sweet.


End file.
